Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Appellations define where a wine is made. In the case of true Colorado estate-bottled wines, this would derive from either the Grand Valley or West Elks American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), designated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to convey quality for U.S. wines.

But what about further seals of excellence for quality, in-state wine? Not all of Colorado's best wineries are located near Palisade or Paonia. As long as the wineries use grapes from these areas or from a handful of smaller vineyards along the Front Range, they can bottle their vintages using the "Colorado Grown" label.

"Colorado wine consumers can obtain 100 percent Colorado Grown wines. In the infancy of the Colorado wine industry in 1990, drafters of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Act coined the phrase “Colorado Grown,” and included language in the statute that only wine containing 100 percent Colorado fruit could use the phrase on wine labels."

"Two influential drafters of the Act were Steve Smith (who founded Grande River Vineyards in 1987), and Doug Phillips (of Plum Creek Cellars, founded in 1984). The phrase and its use have since become part of the Colorado Liquor Code."

“Some people were happy with the federal 75 percent requirement for the Colorado appellation,” Smith recalls."

“But Doug and I wanted something designating 100 percent, that could be pro-actively promoted.”

Friday, March 13, 2009

Micro-distilleries are a popular new component of Colorado's wine and spirits scene. Whiskey, bourbon, grappa and gin are a few of the quality liquors being produced in limited batches across the state.

"It can make or break a business. It can do lovely things to a drink."

"Consider how the wine world embraces terroir (how a product's unique locale plays into its flavor), and it's a no-brainer why Peach Street Distillers set up shop in fruit-abundant Palisade."

"I go pick what I want," says head distiller Davy Lindig. "[A product] is always better when you can get it from the source."

"Not only does Peach Street use post-mashed sticks, skins and stems from nearby Debeque Canyon Winery to make Grappa, but it uses fresh fruit for a line of Eaux-de-Vie (fruit brandies); local juniper berries, herbs and spices for its gin; and not-too-distant Olathe sweet corn for its vodka and bourbon."

"Yes, Peach Street holds the honor of marketing the first legal bourbon ever made in Colorado. And no, bourbon doesn't have to be from Kentucky."

"To clear up the myth, Lindig says a bourbon must be made in the U.S. out of at least 51 percent corn and age for no less than two years in a brand-new charred-oak barrel. That's basically it."

"People haven't done it before, speculates Lindig, because distillers must endure the expensive start-up and barrel-aging interlude; Peach Street's initial release this past fall yielded a fairly small 200 bottles (available only in the tasting room, at present)."

"To get Peach Street off the ground in November 2005, co-founder Rory Donovan — who partnered with Bill Graham and David Thibodeau of Durango's Ska Brewing Co. — self-distributed statewide."

"I put some miles on the truck," he says. "I was handling 300 accounts from Fort Collins to Telluride."

"But he finally caught the attention of Republic National, a major distributor. Soon, he expects to release 150 six-pack cases of bourbon every four to six months for distribution."

"We're only 3½ with a 2½-year-old whiskey that's getting rated the same scores as 100-year-old distilleries and their 7- and 8-year-old whiskeys," says Donovan. "It tells me, just like with craft brew, when you put some time and effort and slow things down and do it yourself, you can make a hell of a product."

"Everything but Peach Street's bourbon ($58, 750 ml) is available in local liquor stores. Other prices for 750 ml bottles range from $28 to $32."

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Boy, Coloradans sure know how to get plastered in style! In a pure celebration of all things related to the fermentation of grape and grain, Colorado boasts over 70 wineries and over a hundred brewpubs. Denver is home to Modern Drunkard Magazine and is sometimes labeled the "Napa Valley of Microbreweries."

But what about Colorado's dozen or so craft distillers? This cottage industry is producing limited batches of the hard stuff, and people are flocking to buy it. The Colorado Springs Independent recently highlighted this niche market, including Palisade's very own Peach Street Distillers.

"The small distillery laid its first barrel to mature just five years ago, and still puts out just three barrels per week — which represents about five minutes of production for the mass-producing distilleries. So if Graber's decidedly unscientific analysis is true, Stranahan's sales success could be considered amazing."

"Owens, a former brewer who's been tracking spirit trends for six years now, says the number of current operations, currently around 150, is growing by roughly 20 per year. Colorado distilleries account for a dozen, falling behind only California, Michigan and Oregon nationally, and accounting for about as many craft operations, Owens says, as can be found in all of Europe."

"[The Europeans] scratch their heads and can't figure out why anyone would even bother," says Owens. "They don't understand the American Dream."

"Talk to any small distiller, one producing a few thousand cases versus millions, and you'll find that relentless pursuit of the dream is indeed what it takes to carve a niche alongside the distributors of mass-quantity, mainstream spirits. Because the "barrier to entry" is so high — paying for bottling, licensing and distributorship on top of significant investment capital, with an expected two- to three-year negative cash flow — Owens estimates that distilleries will never surge quite like microbreweries have."

"The ones that are here, though, like Stranahan's, are doing just fine."

Under the headline, "Five Breathtaking Destinations for your Vineyard Wedding," an admin at WeddingNightRomance wrote:

"Many brides search for the ultimate outdoor wedding location to capture the romance of their special day. If you are looking for a wedding spot that’s out of the ordinary, a vineyard may be the perfect destination, adding a touch of sophistication and elegance to your outdoor wedding. Perfect Outdoor Weddings chose the top five vineyards where you can treat yourselves to beauty, serenity, enjoyable group activities, and fine wines, while celebrating the most wonderful day of your lives."

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Poor Denver is losing one of its hometown papers, the Rocky Mountain News. But the nearly 150 year old newspaper did not leave without reporting quality wine news to the end. The News recently wrote about how 2008 should be a great vintage for Colorado wine, with the right conditions coming together for an excellent grape harvest.

"The state's first full-time consulting winemaker, or enologist, was upbeat, too - but not as effusive as some of the winemakers."

"It was a good vintage. But it wasn't spectacular," said Stephen Menke, who also teaches enology at Colorado State University."

"Basically, the flavor profiles seem pretty good. This will be one of the better vintages."

"The last notable vintages were in 2005 and 2006."

"Colorado joins other states where early signs suggest that the 2008 vintage was a good one."

"According to Wine Enthusiast magazine, favorable weather produced "excellent" to "outstanding" grape harvests last fall in such key wine-producing states as California, Washington and Oregon."

"Bill Musgnung, a winemaker who relocated to Paonia from Oregon to produce wine, said Colorado benefited from "ideal growing conditions." He also said grape growers here "now understand that by keeping the vine fruit yields lower this makes for better wines."

"The result: "The fruit is fantastic and the wines should be some of the best ever made in Colorado," said Musgnung, who buys grapes to produce wine at his winery, Bethlehem Wine Cellars."

"Musgnung has sampled numerous wines from other wineries. "Thus far the fermenting Rieslings that I've tasted are absolutely fantastic and the reds are shining."

"He singled out wines from Cortez, Palisade, Hotchkiss and Paonia."

"In addition to good quality grapes, the 2008 harvest also represents a bumper crop for Colorado vineyards."

"It's a new state record. No doubt about it," said Horst Caspari, Colorado's state viticulturist.

"I think we might be getting close to 2,000 tons. Maybe 1,800 to 2,000 tons."

"That would be a dramatic turnaround from the 2007 harvest. Unusually cold weather in late 2006 and the spring of 2007 wreaked havoc on Colorado vineyards, especially in Delta County."

"The resulting grape yield totaled just 700 tons, down from 1,515 in 2006."

"It's our biggest and one of the better quality harvests we've had," said John Garlich, owner of BookCliff Vineyards. The winery owns and manages 33 acres of vineyard in Palisade.

"Garlich said BookCliff may produce its first "reserve" merlot since 2005. The wine is aged in new oak barrels."

"While the quality of the grapes is said to be good around the state, not all vineyard operators reported big harvests."

"Eames Peterson, owner of Alfred Eames Cellars in Paonia, said a spring frost destroyed 80 percent of the pinot noir grapes he has planted on three acres."

"We had good quality grapes but a lot of frost damage," said Peterson, who also is the winery's winemaker. "That was not true of all the vineyards up here."

"He noted the area - which sits about 1,000 feet in elevation above the Grand Valley - contains numerous microclimates because of the nearby West Elk mountains."

Wine Country Inn's Mt Lincoln Vineyards

The grapes come right up to our front door.

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